Grease discharge device



Nov. 20, 1934. c. HARRIS GREASE DISCHARGE DEVICE Filed Nov. 29, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR )l av a, v xvisiziz wi ATTORNEYS Nov. 20, 1934.

c. HARRIS 1,981,508

GREASE DI SCHARGE DEVICE Filed NOV. 29, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 gunnulgmmm) INVENTOR4 ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 20, 1934 GREASE DISCHARGE DEVICE Cleo Harris, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to The Cincinnati Ball Crank Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application November 29, 1932, Serial No. 644,844 3 Claims. (Cl. 7221-473) This invention relates to lubricating apparatus and is particularly directed to improvements in small portable hand operated grease supply pumps or guns for servicing lubricating fittings and the like.

It has been found necessary to make these hand guns in a variety of types for a range of volume or pressure. The ejecting piston at the forward end of the guns is disposed for action on the volume of grease urged to the forward end of the gun by some booster means and is operated by means of a hand lever. The discharge piston is variedin diameter depending on the pressure or the volume of feed desired.

It is the object of this invention to provide an improved hand operated grease pump or gun of the above nature in which different size pistons are readily incorporated without necessitating an entirely reconstructed gun for each size. More specifically, the purpose is to provide that a different size piston may be readily introduced in a standard gun merely by removing the piston and cylinder and replacing the same with a piston and cylinder of the desired diameter.

It isa further object of this invention to provide an improved hand gun in which the follower plate mechanism and mounting are improved for a uniform grease feeding action and for positively holding the piston in fully retracted position in the barrel during the time that the piston is being reloaded so as to take the feeding pressure off the grease at this time.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a co-related piston and discharge control valve for the grease gun in which the final action of the piston in' its discharge strokes is to unseat the valve by direct contact so as to prevent the formation of air pockets in the cylinder and to insure a complete discharge of grease and any air from the cylinder at each stroke. An arrangement of the cylinder is also provided whereby the feeding or loading of grease into the discharge cylinder takes place easily and positively for a regular discharge of grease from the cylinder upon each stroke of the piston.

Other objects and further advantages will be more fully apparent from a description of the accompanying drawings,l in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the improvedv hand gun showing the details thereof and illustrating a low pressure development size, and showing the end of the discharge hose in section for illustrating the details of the swivelling coupling means.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary view of the forward end of the gun illustrating the head thereof with replaced cylinder andpiston for high pressure discharge.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3 3;

Figure 1, illustrating the latch for holding the 08.v

follower piston in retracted position. y

Figure 4 is a fragmentaryand sectional view taken on line 4 4, Figure 1,' detailing the hand operated leverage for operating the gun.

Figure 5 is 'a fragmentary and sectional view 66 taken on line 5 5, Figure '1, detailing the follower piston and its mounting. Y

Figure 6 is a front view of the gun. v Figure 7 is a sectional view taken on line 7 7,

Figure 1, detailing the connection of the leverage 70 to the piston. n

Figure 8 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the lower end of the piston and the valve' showing the piston at thellimit of downstroke.

The grease gun to which the-improvements applied in the present instance includes an arrangement of the operating lever and barrel, the operation of which lever relative to the barrel resembles a scissors action, these guns,theref ore, being referred to as the scissors type.

Referring to the drawings, the barrel 10, in which the supplyof grease is contained, is screwed into a head 11 in which the operating piston 12 and cylinder 13 are mounted at right angles to the axis of the barrel.

ates the piston 12 is pivoted at the forward end of the head of the gun and has its leverage end extending substantially parallel with'the barrel. In the operation of the gun for the delivery of the grease, the handle or lever, operating the pis- 90.

ton, and the barrel are moved toward and from each other after the manner of the operation of a pair of scissors..

An outlet passageway 15 extends from the lower end of the cylinder, the discharge of grease from l the cylinder being controlled by means of an' outlet valve 16. A follower piston 17 is mounted in the barrel or cylinder containing the supply of grease and is urged against the body of grease by means of a spring 18 under compression between` 100 the follower piston and the outer cylinder cap or head 19. The follower piston moves axially on a withdrawal rod 20. This rod 20 includes a nut 21 providing a shoulder or abutment at the extreme inner end of the rodand has' a handle 22 105 fixed onits outer end beyondv the cap or rclosure means 19. q Y

The rod 20'is provided for the purpose of retractingv the follower piston and drawing grease into thebarrel, V,which act places the" spring 18 110 are 753 The lever 14 which oper- 85 across this chamber.

under compression. When the gun barrel has vbeen emptied and the follower piston has moved against the limit shoulder or stop 21 under the action of the spring the operator of the gun unscrews the barrel 10 from the head 11 and plunges the open end of the barrel into the grease supply. He then retracts the follower plate by grasping the handle 22 and pulling the rod through the cap 19.

When the follower plate has been fully moved back it is set in position so that the handle mayy be released and the gun re-.assembled The means for securing the piston in retracted position is in the form of a latch bar 23 operating in a cross slot 24 in the cap 19v and cooperating with an annular groove 25 in the hub 26 of the follower piston. The end of the hub 26 moves into a counterbore 27 of the cap191to bring the annular groove 25 into cooperative relation for registry with the latch bar. The latch bar is inclusive of an opening 28 traversed bythe rod. 20 vrand the latch bar isnormally urged laterally against the rod by a spring 29 mounted in the inner and closed t end of the cross slot. The hub of the follower plate has a tapered .end 30 which. imparts afcam action for moving the latch laterally so that it will slip up to and intogthe groove 25. The follower plate or `piston is fabricated of reversely facing gaskets 31, a washer 32 at each sideof thev abutted'gaskets, the main hub element 26 and a packing gland 33, the latter two elements being screwed together ,and having fianges `34 clamping upon-thejopposite sides of the assembled gaskets and washers. 1 Atapered packing 35 is urged upon the rod 20 by a tapered elementl 36 moved against the packing by means of a spring 37. i i

The head 11 has a chamber 38 beyond'the open end of the barrely andthe cylinder 13k is disposed The cylinder element is inserted ina cross bore of the :head Afrom 'the bottom of the gun andincludes a head V or fia-nge 39 secured against ya -packingring on a counterbore shoulder 40 of the bore by means of a' valve carrier and cylinder retaining plug \4ljscrewed into the counterbore.

A ball valve 42 is mounted within the plug and is urged by Vmeansof a spring 43 against a seat 44 at the lower end of the cylinder for closing. the end of the cylinder. 'I'he sides of the plug are slotted asv at 45 adjacent the ball valve and a circularA clearance groove y46 is formed by a counterturned groove in the outer surface of the plug to which grooveV the slots connect. The discharge passageway extends laterally from this groove and a rconnector plug 47 at the' end of a hose 48'is screwed into thispassageway.` The discharge passage and hose extend Asingularly from the forward end of the head. y Y

Thepiston L12 is inserted in the cylinder from above and is operated from above. The walls of the cylinder are slotted as at 49 so `that thegrease may enter from the chamber of the head, these slots'being` disposed substantially below the pisj ton when in itsvupper, limit position. A. packing gland 50 is screwed into the cross bore from. above for'sealing about the piston.

The piston operating lever 14 has a doublek pivotal connection at the forward head endof the gun. Spaced links 51* are Ypivoted on 'av lug 52 of the .head and are '.pivotally connected by a 'pivotal connection 53 tothe end of the lever.v A lug or rib 54 along and on the runderside of the lever traverses a" slot 55 in the upper end of the piston and. is connected thereto .by means'. of a cross pin 56. The handle 57 of the lever is extended well along the gun barrel.

The discharge hose 48 is of rubber having terminal ends of metal. The inner terminal or connector plug 47 carries an adapter 47B4 which is screwed onto a nipple 47b fixed into the head at the discharge end of the cylinder. Aspring urged packing 47c is urged against the joint between the adapter and nipple for sealing the joint since the hose is normally uncoupled at this connection ,orjoint The outer terminal 58 has a swivelling coupling 59 mounted thereon. The terminals and hose are connected together by pressure insertion ofthe hose ends in vcircular recesses or grooves '60 in the terminals.

,v The coupling is rotatably mounted on a hollow and headed stud 61 screwed into the terminal 58. A manipulatingl element 62 including a thumb or wing extension 63 is loosely abutted against the end of the terminal 58 and under the head of the stud 61. An-intermediate element 64 is screwed into the manipulating element and snugly rotatable against the head of the stud. A cup packing 65 in a counterbore ofthe intermediate element is urged by a comparison spring 66 against the head for sealing the passageway for the grease from the stud into the intermediate element.

A main coupling'v element'A piece 67 is screwed into the outer end ofthe intermediate element ing the connection between the. intermediate ele-Q ment and the coupling element and the other lying. against a shoulder 71 and adapted to abut the end of the fitting'.

It has also been arranged that the same ball valve 16 may be used for all of thevinterchangeable cylinders, the'seats at the lower ends of the bores of these different sized cylinders being formed on the same radius so as to properly seat a common ball valve.

In operating the gun after the barrel has been loaded and'replaced and the latch-'23 tripped permitting the booster piston to be moved against the grease under the influence of the spring, the barrel is grasped in one hand and thelever in the other, and the gun thereupon operated after the manner of a pair of shears or scissors. As the lever and barrel are moved apart, the pistonis drawn up in the cylinder, the valve 16 `being closed atv this time.

When the lower end of the piston sufficiently t clears the slots inthe cylinder wall, the grease is moved into the cylinder under the action of the follower piston and the cylinder is thereby re`l loaded for down stroke. As the lever and barrel are moved together, the piston acting on the grease in the cylinder below the slots opens the valve and forces the' grease out through the discharge hose and into the fitting to which the hose is coupled. At the lower limit of piston stroke the piston engages the ball and 'unseats-it by direct contact thus assuring the escapement'and discharge of any air which may have pocketed in the cylinder. Y

The operating lever is limited in its discharge movement, to a position just sufficient for moving moves the cylinder from its bore at the underside of the gun. The piston is readily disconnected from the lever by pulling it upwardly clear of the head and extracting the pivot pin which connects it to the lever. A different diameter cylinder and piston may then be readily inserted to suit the requirements at the particular time.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A grease supply gun, comprising, a head including a chamber, a headed cylinder mounted in a bore of the head and across the chamber and having its head engaged on the shoulder of a counterbore in the head, said cylinder including a passageway communicating with the chamber, a longitudinally slotted Valve carrier and cylinder retainer element screwed against the head of said cylinder, a ball valve mounted in said element, a spring urging the ball valve against the lower end of said cylinder, a discharge conduit extending from the counterbore, a piston inserted in said cylinder from above, a packing gland screwed into the bore and about the upper extended end of the piston, a hand lever pivoted at the forward end of the head and pivotally connected to the upper end of the piston, a supply barrel connected to said head, and a follower piston forcing the grease into the chamber of the head, said hand lever disposed above and along the barrel.

2. A grease supply gun, comprising, a head including a chamber, a headed cylinder mounted in a bore of the head and across the chamber and having its head engaged on the shoulder of a counterbore in the head, said cylinder including a passageway communicating with the chamber, a valve carrier and cylinder retainer element screwed against the head of said cylinder, a valve mounted in said element, a spring urging the valve against the lower end of said cylinder, a discharge conduit extending from the counterbore, a piston inserted in said cylinder from above, packing about the upper extended end of the piston, and a lever for operating said piston.

3. A grease discharge device, comprising, a head including a chamber, a barrel adapted to contain grease and connecting With said chamber, means in the barrel for forcing the grease into the chamber, a cylinder element mounted in the head transverse to the axis of the barrel and disposed through the chamber of the head, said cylinder including openings in its Wall connecting the interior of the cylinder with the chamber, a valve carrier and cylinder retainer element screwed into the head for maintaining the cylindery in place and disposing the valve against the lower end thereof, a piston in said cylinder, a lever for reciprocating the piston, saidA lever connected to the piston at the upper end thereof, and a discharge conduit extending from the lower end of the cylinder.

CLEO HARRIS. 

